Singapore on high alert over cybersecurity threats
A cyberattack on Singapore’s power system could disrupt its electricity supply, which could have a knock-on effect on other essential services such as healthcare or transport, said the official.
Singaporean Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam has said that Singapore is facing serious threats from state-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) actors.
The official was quoted by local media as saying at the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA)'s 10th anniversary dinner at Sands Expo and Convention Centre on July 18 that these are well-resourced attackers that use sophisticated techniques to evade detection.
They lurk in networks to spy over the long term, to steal sensitive information or disrupt essential services, among other objectives, he added.
Shanmugam said the number of suspected APT attacks in Singapore has increased more than fourfold between 2021 and 2024.
A cyberattack on Singapore’s power system could disrupt its electricity supply, which could have a knock-on effect on other essential services such as healthcare or transport, said the official.
He said attacks on the nation’s systems and infrastructure will impact how it does business, with Singapore having to relook its vendors and supply chains.
In what was the first sophisticated attack against universities here, NUS and NTU discovered intrusions in their networks in 2017.
Then in 2018, Singapore experienced its worst data breach involving the personal particulars of 1.5 million patients, including then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong./.
